Automatic gas cut-off.



S. TAGLIAMONTE.

AUTOMATIC GAS GUT-OPP.

APPLICATION FILED rmm, 1914.

1,097,482., PatentedMay 19, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

S. TAGLIAMONTE.

AUTOMATIC GAS GUT-OPP.

APPLICATION FILED 1113.7, 1914.

1,097,482. Patented May 19, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

mars 1 e b lltlfil.

SIL'VERIQ TAG-LIAMONTE, 03F SQMERVILLE, MASSAJHUSETTS.

AUTOMATIC ens cur-err.

neevnsa.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that l, Sitvnmo TAeLmMoNTE, a subject of the King of Italy, residing at Somerville, in the county of Middlesex and State of li fassacl usetts, have invented new and useful improvements in Automatic Gas Cut-Offs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an automatic cutoff for burners, such as are customarily employed for illuminating purposes, the primary object of the invention being to provide an automatic gas cut off which may be set for operation for control by a thermostat, whereby in the event of the extinguishment of the flame the controlling valve will be turned automatically to cut off position.

A. further object of the invention is to provide an automatic cut off embodying a motor automatically set for action when the valve is manually opened, which is adapted to be held from operation to maintain the valve open by a thermostat, and which may be temporarily held from action by manual control means while the thermostat is being heated and set for action after the gas is lighted.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a motor controlling means governed by the thermostat and which is manually adjustable to hold the valve open to a greater or less extent to regulate the size of the flame, and also to provide thermostatic operating means of novel, efficient and reliable construction.

The invention consists of the features of construction, combination. and arrangement of parts herein fully described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a side elevation showing the application of my invention to a gas burner. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a similar view on the line i -e of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section through the valve of the burner and the parts of the motor associated therewith. 6 is a vertical longitudinal section through the thermostat. Fig. 7 is a de tail section showing the valve opened and the motor for action and held from action by the manually controlled detent preliminary to the adjustment of the thermostatically controlled detent to working posi tion. Fig. 8 a detail. plan section il1ustrat-= Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 7, 191 1.

. intermediate strip Patented Title 19, 1914.

Serial No. 817,230.

ing in full and dotted lines the adjusting of the thermostatically controlled detent by the adjusting lever. Fig. 9 is a bottom plan view of the detent wheel.

Referring to the drawings 1 designates a gas burner of any ordinary construction, the supply of gas to which is controlled by the rotary plug valve 2 having a stop pin 3 to engage shoulders 4 and 5 when the valve is respectively in fully closed and opened posi tions. The valve is also provided with the usual finger piece 6, by which it is adapted ordinarily for manual manipulation.

In carrying my invention into practice I provide a supporting frame structure composed of spaced top and bottom plates 7 which are united by posts 8, 9 and 10 and parts of the motor gearing, hereinafter described. The posts 8 and 9 are elongated and extend upwardly from the frame and are provided at their upper ends with clamping yokes or other suitable fastening members 11, whereby they are attached respectively to the burner fixture 12 and burner arm 13, thus holding the same in fixed relation and from relative movement on their pivotal connection. Supported by the frame 7 is a gear train 14:, forming part of a spring motor, including a winding shaft 15 and a detent shaft 16. The winding shaft 15 carries at its upper end a slotted head 17 which receives and engages the finger piece 6 of the valve 2 and is fastened thereto by a pin or bolt 18. On the shaft is loosely mounted a drive gear 19, coupled to the shaft for winding motion by a suitable clutch device as a ratchet wheel 20 and pawl 21, and to the hub of which wheel is fastened a coiled motor spring 22, which is fastened at its opposite end to the post 9, or to some other suitable portion of the frame. The lower end of the winding shaft is angular in form, as at 23, to receive a winding key 24;. which may be fastened against loss or displacement to the frame by a chain or other suitable connection 25.

Rising from the frame is standard or bracket member 26 having a right angularly bent arm 27 provided with a downturned end portion 28, which is disposed immediately above the burner tube 29, which supports a heat concentrating shield or bell 30 and a thermostat 31. The thermostat 31 consists of upper and lower str s of a suitable metal, such as ahu n and an of anon suitable metal, such as iron, said metal strips being riveted or otherwise fastened at their outer ends together and intermediately supported upon the bracket arm so as to allow the strips to freely expand and contract. The metallic strips are preferably longitudinally grooved 0r corrugated to increase their amount of expansion, and it will be evident that as the aluminum and iron strips have different coefficients of expansion, the aluminum strips are adapted to bow and spread apart when heated and to contract and move toward each other when cooled. Suitably secured to the lower aluminum strip 32 is a motion transmitting lever 34, pivoted at a point in advance of its center to a supporting member 35 depending from the arm 27 the short arm of said lever being thus connected with the thermostat. The other or long arm of the lever is threaded to adjustably receive a coupling member 36 which is pivoted to the upper end of a detent rod 37, said rod consisting of upper and lower sections 38 and 39 threaded at their proximate ends and connected by a threaded sleeve 40, whereby said rod may be adjusted as to length to regulate its action under the motion of the thermostat, The lower end of the rod is provided with a right an gularly bent detent finger 41 which extends under the adjacent portion of a detent wheel carried by the detent shaft 16 driven from the gear train 14 and is adapted for cooperation with a cushioning spring 43 and a stop pin 44 carried by said wheel. Projecting upward from the wheel is a second stop pin 45 adapted for coaction with a de tent pin 46 on one arm of a lever 47 pivoted to the frame, the arms of which lever are provided with the pending chains 48 and 49, whereby the lever may be tilted in opposite directions manually to throw the pin 46 into and out of the path of rotation of the pin 45. The lower end of the rod 37, which is vertically as well as laterally movable, extends t rough a guide opening in a crank arm 50 on the upper end of a rod or shaft 51 journaled on the frame, which shaft is adapted to be oscillated in opposite directions to adjust the rod 37 laterally, whereby the detent finger 41 may be turned into and out of the path of movement of the spring 43 and pin. 44. To said shaft is connected one end of a controlling lever 52, the opposite end of which is bent to form a manipulating handle 53. The lever 52 rests upon a supporting bar 54 carried by the post 10, which bar is slotted or provided with projecting pins to form locking recesses 55 and 56, with which the lever is adapted to be respectively engaged to hold the detent rod set so that the finger 41 will lie in or out of the path of movement of the spring 43 and pin 44.

The operation of the device is as f0llows :The motor spring 22 is adapted to hold the winding shaft 15 in a position in which the valve ,2 is closed and the stop pin 3 thereon engages the stop pin 4. When it is desired to light the gas and at the same time set the safety cut-off for action, the key 24 is applied to the lower angular end of the winding shaft and the latter turned to open the valve 2 and simultaneously wind up the motor spring 22, thus setting the motor for action to turn the gear 10 for operation to rotate the shaft in the reverse direction to subsequently close the valve 2, and

at the same time the lever arm 47 is adjusted to dispose the pin 46 into the path of the pin 45 by which the gear train 14 is held from motion and the drive gear 19 held from ac tion by the motor spring 22. At this stage the detent finger 41 is disposed beneath the detent wheel 42 and out of the path of motion of the spring 43 and stop pin 44, owing to the fact that the detent rod 37 is depressed when the thermostat is contracted or in normal condition. The parts having thus been set for operation, the gas issuing from the burner tip is lighted and the heat from the flame acting upon the thermostat 31 causes an expansion thereof, whereby the short arm of the transmission lever 34 s depressed and the long arm of said lever raised. thereby lifting the detent rod 37 so that the finger 41 is elevated and engaged with the spring 43 and lies in proximity to the pin 44 and in the path of rotary motion of both the spring and pin. The thermostatically controlled detent is thus set to hold the motor from action, whereupon the lever 47 is adjusted to throw the pin 46 out of the path of motion of the pin 45, thus releasing the detent wheel 42 for rotation so far as the detent and pin 46 is concerned, but as the detent finger 41 is in p0 sition for action a very slight motion of the wheel 42 brings the pin 44 into contact with the finger, whereby the motor wheel is held from action by the thermostatically controlled detent. The parts will maintain the relative positions stated as long as the gas is burning and the thermostat is expanded, thus holding the automatic valve closing mechanism from action, but if from any cause the gas should be extinguished the cooling of the thermostat will cause it to contract, whereby the detent rod 37 is depressed in an obvious manner, thereby throwing the detent finger 41 below the plane of the spring 43 and stop pin 44 allowing the motor to operate, whereupon through the action of the motor spring 22 the drive gear 19 will be operated and will turn the winding shaft 15 to close the valve 22, as will be readily understood, thereby cutting off the flow of gas to the burner and preventing its escape.

The purp se of. th spring 43 is to a t as a cushioning device to check the motion of the wheel 42 when the detent finger 41 is brought into action, in order that said finger will on gage the stop pin a l in a certain and positive manner, and without throwing strain upon the gearing. It will be evident, of course, that the manually controlled detent allows the valve to be opened and the motor set for action and held from action while the thermostat is out oi action and before it is heat ed to the necessary extent to throw the detent finger 4L1 controlled thereby into action. It will also be evident when the thermostat is in action the detent pin will hold the motor from operation in a positive and certain manner, but that as soon as the flame is extinguished, accidentally or otherwise, and the thermostat contracts, the detent finger will be thrown out of action and the motor mechanism will thereupon close the valve to stop the flow of gas. By means of the lever 52 the detent rod may be adjusted laterally at any time to throw the detent linger out of action and allow the motor mechanism to close the valve and cutoff the flow of gas to the burner, allowing the gas to be cut oil at any time irrespective of the working condition of the thermostat. By also adjusting the lever from its normal position in en gagement with the locking recess 55, in which it holds the detent finger in normal position, to a position in which it engages the locking recess 56, the detent pin may be temporarily thrown out of detaining position, allowing the detent wheel as to rotate one or more times, and then by shifting the lever back into engagement with the recess 55 the motion of the detent wheel may be stopped. This operation will allow the motor wheel to have action to a limited extent so that the valve 2 may be adjusted to a partly closed position, and for the flow of any desired amount of gas and. to maintain a flame of any size, as will be readily understood, by which the size of the flame may be varied to any desired degree. in this action when the detent finger is thrown back to detaining position, the spring l3 engages the finger before the pin 44; comes in contact therewith, thereby taking up the shock of contact and securing a locking action without material strain on the gearing.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings, the construction and mode of operation of my improved safety cut-oil for gas burners will be readily understood and its advantages appreciated. While the construction disclosed is preferred, changes and modifications falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims may be made without departing from the invention or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

I claim:-

1. in an. automatic gas cutoff, the combination of a gas burner having a controlling valve, a spring motor actuated device for moving the valve to closed position, said device being operative when the valve is opened to set the motor for action, a detaining device for holding said valve operating device from action, a manually controlled detent adjustable into and out of the path of said detaining device, a thermostat, a detent controlled by the thermostat and movable thereby into and out of the path of the detaining device, and a manually operable member connected with said detent for shifting the same into and out of the path of the detaining device independently of the thermostat.

2. in an automatic gas cutoff, the combination of a burner having a controlling valve, a spring motor actuated device for turning the valve to closed position, said device being opcrable to open the valve and simultaneously wind the motor for action, a detaining device for holding the motor from act-ion, a manually controlled detent adjustable into and out of the path of: the detaining device, a thermostat, a pivoted lever operated thereby, a detent rod having a linger movable by the action of the thermostat into and out of the path of the detaining device, and a manually operable member for shifting said finger into and out of the path of the detaining device independently of the action of the thermostat.

3. In an automatic gas cut-oil, the combination of a gas burner having a controlling valve, a motor actuated device for moving the valve to closed position, said device being operative when the valve is open to set the motor for action, a detaining device for holding the motor rrom action, a manually controlled detent adjustable into and out of ti e path of the detaining device, a thermostat, a pivoted lever operated thereby, a detent rod having a finger movable by the action of the thermostat into and out of the path of the detaining device independently or the action of the thermostat.

In testimony whereof I alfix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SILVERIO TAGLIAMONTE.

iVitnesses Einismo CAnIocrno, PAs UALn PATELLA.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C. 

